Wednesday, November 9, 2011

I decided after working two Saturdays in a row that I was needing at least two days off from work this weekend to tend to some personal business. Monday rolled in and I did the usual, rose at about 2:45 in the morning, Showered and shaved, had coffee and breakfast, and headed to Airport Rd to hook up with my ride to Moundhouse some 10 miles away to where I work at Production Pattern Foundries. So I talked to the foreman first thing before my shift and put in my request for this Saturday which he happily complied. I didn’t find out until a couple of hours later what this request was REALLY going to cost me. After we started work we were duly informed that the machine that makes the sand molds that we pour the aluminum into was going down for maintenance the following day and there would only be a handful of people working the scheduled shift on Tuesday. The guy that I ride with had gotten Tuesday off, but since I requested Saturday I had to work on Tuesday.. Which meant that I would have to get up early and ride my bicycle every inch of the way there. All 10 miles of it.. Yaaay me.

So Tuesday morning rolled around, and I got up even earlier, because I had to leave earlier. I made sure I installed brand new batteries in the bike head light, and wore an extra shirt and long johns so I didn’t get cold on my long bike trip to work in Moundhouse. I had to leave at about 3:15 AM in order to get there before my shift started at 5:00. I got up to Moundhouse at somewhere around 4:05 AM, that’s when I got the bright idea to take a shortcut. If I went down Red Rock Road and cut across the field at the end of it I would be able to cut 35 minutes off of my time and I would get there early enough to relax for a few minutes before starting my shift. It was pitch black out, and halfway across the field my headlight quit working and I could hear the not so distant sound of something coming up behind me, the clopping sounds on the dirt rode were a dead givaway and although I couldn’t see them, I could hear several wild horses running by me through the field and it scared the hell out of me as a couple of them were close enough to touch! I made it to work on time and in one piece but I was almost trampled by a whole herd of wild horseys, but least I get this Saturday off. The things I do for my weekend, two more days to go.